Hebrews - Part 3 - " Pure Hearts" Series

Hebrews

“Encouragement for a life of faith”

Part 3

“Pure hearts”

Hebrews 3:12-14

Today we will continue with our study of the great New Testament book of Hebrews

This book has so much to offer for the born again believer in Jesus

But also has great information for the lost or the seeking as well

Just to recap for a moment

In the first week of our study we saw how the writer of Hebrews shows Jesus as

“The Real Deal”

And we learned how we must

As his followers never accept any substitute

The next week we looked at the danger

To our spiritual walk

Of drifting away from what we know

What we have read

What we have studied

And what we have been taught

The danger of drifting away from God and his word

I laid out 6 warning signs that we may be drifting

And they were

Loss of focus

Loss of priority

Loss of passion

Loss of self discipline

Loss of commitment

And loss of compassion

And we looked at how to avoid drifting

We looked at the consequences of drifting and not drifting

I titled this sermon series

Encouragement for a life of faith

I chose this name because we do need to be encouraged

But

Always a but right

Sometimes we get encouraged by getting stepped on a bit first

Last week was a mashing on

But

I pray that you were able to apply the points from the passage and begin drift proofing your life

Today is another exhortation

What this means is the writer or Hebrews is applying some pressure

And therefore

I

Am going to apply some pressure

Prayerfully the result of the pressure will be to expose sore spots in our Christian walk

And then we can address those spots

And begin the process of healing that area of our Christian walk

And prayerfully as we grow and mature we will be encouraged

In Chapter 3 of Hebrews

The writer

Starts out with more detail about the supremacy of Christ

If you want to know more

Please pray about attending our round pen bible studies

And

Open your own bibles and dig

The writer talks of Jesus being greater than Moses

Who is considered to be the greatest prophet

And then

He begins an

Exhortation

Remember exhortation is a talk that inspires change

Let me read for you Hebrews 3:1-11

And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and[a] are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger[b] and High Priest. 2 For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire[c] house.

3 But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself. 4 For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God.

5 Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. 6 But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.[d]

7 That is why the Holy Spirit says,

“Today when you hear his voice,

8 don’t harden your hearts

as Israel did when they rebelled,

when they tested me in the wilderness.

9 There your ancestors tested and tried my patience,

even though they saw my miracles for forty years.

10 So I was angry with them, and I said,

‘Their hearts always turn away from me.

They refuse to do what I tell them.’

11 So in my anger I took an oath:

‘They will never enter my place of rest.

He reminds us in verse one

To listen

Pay attention

And to think carefully

Remember last week from Romans 12

To be transformed

We must change the way we think

We must think carefully

Then

He goes onto show why Jesus deserves more glory than Moses

And he shows us Jesus as the creator

And as the creator

Jesus is greater than the prophets

The law

Angels or anything else

Then he begins his exhortation

In verses 7-11

He says God’s chose people

The Israelites

Were unable to keep their hearts pure

So they lost many of the blessings that God had for them

Including getting to go into the Promised Land

Let me remind you that God led the Israelites in the desert

He provided for them

He fed them

Their clothes and shoes did not wear out

They received many blessings

But due to their lack of belief

When I say belief

I don’t mean belief in God